


Andante

by jdjunkie



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Episode Related, Episode: s03e10 Forever in a Day, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-08-30
Updated: 2010-08-30
Packaged: 2017-10-11 08:41:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/110506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jdjunkie/pseuds/jdjunkie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack hopes his team can heal after the events of Forever in a Day</p>
            </blockquote>





	Andante

**Author's Note:**

> Written for fignewton's Alphabet Soup, to the prompt W is for Walking

By most mission standards, this one was run-of-the-mill.

Average, green-grass blue-sky planet with average expectation of finding useful mineral deposits and cultural offerings, providing average levels of interest to all concerned.

There was a lot to be said for average, Jack mused, wiping the smeary lenses of his sunglasses before putting them on again to shade against the light of PC7-441’s sun.

Average meant none of his team was likely to be shot, poisoned, artificially aged or mind-wiped.

Average meant his civilian wouldn’t see his Goa’ulded wife killed by a teammate.

Yeah. Average had a lot going for it right now.

From his vantage point of a handily-placed log on the edge of the clearing, Jack watched his team in action. Carter was analyzing soil and rock samples with her mobile lab, muttering quietly to herself as she wrote her findings in a journal that looked a lot like the one Daniel used. Maybe they’d been buying in bulk and using the savings for areas they considered much more important ... like the latest doohickeys for Carter and the latest reference books that did not have the word Budge on the spine for Daniel.

Carter’s customary practice was to set up her equipment a distance from where Daniel based himself, offering them both space to work. Today, she was no more than three feet from the stele that Daniel was studying and video recording. Teal’c stood sentinel over both of them, threat-assessing the hell out of the area around them.

They’d closed ranks and, in Jack’s judgment, they’d done it unconsciously.

It was only eight days since Sha’uri’s death and since Daniel had spent 48 hours in the infirmary recovering from the effects of the ribbon device. Carter had retreated to her lab and worked herself senseless, which was the way she usually coped with emotional upheaval on her part or on the part of anyone close to her, emerging only to take Daniel cookies and books.

And Teal’c ... well, who the hell knew?  Jaffa did stoicism like no one else. Teal’c had kept his distance from the team in the days since Sha’uri’s death and funeral, and from Daniel in particular. Several times, Jack had seen him eating in the commissary and had joined him unasked. Twice, he’d sparred with him in the gym uninvited. But what was going through his mind Jack could only guess at, since Teal’c wasn’t sharing.

So, to see three of them now, working within touching distance, to see Teal’c physically close to Daniel, even as he’d pulled emotionally away, filled Jack with the first fluttering of hope for the future of the unit.

Jack already felt vindicated in his strong appeal to Hammond for this mission. Hammond had been unsure about green-lighting it when they already had another lined up in a week’s time. MALP readings for the upcoming mission had shown a dark storeroom in a warehouse. A glimpse through a high window had shown airships and smoke from industrial chimneys. Could be interesting. Could also represent the usual dangers.

That was why Jack had pushed so hard for what was little more than a milk run, convincing Hammond that the team needed to get Out There again ASAP, danger-free. Selecting a benign world where they could spend some time as a team made a whole lot of sense. It would also give Jack the chance to evaluate Daniel’s mission readiness. If he asked him, Daniel would say he was fine. Jack needed to see it for himself.

Yep. A trouble-free mission was just the thing. Cake walk. Walk in the park.

They had a go.

So, here they were, nearing the end of the off-world jaunt that was designed to help them reconnect. And he guessed it was working, as far as it went. Everyone was doing their thing -- but they were still tiptoeing round the giant gray thing in the room.

Jack checked his watch. Hammond had given them 24 hours and they’d be cutting it fine if they didn’t start heading back soon.  It was a two-hour hike back to the gate. Normally, they could cover the distance in 90 minutes, but Jack wasn’t prepared to push it. He was concerned about Daniel’s physical stamina and concerned about the emotional state of all them, himself included.

Sha’uri’s death and been sudden and shocking. He ached for the loss of her spirit and fire, something he’d recognized and admired in her from the beginning. It was easy to see why Daniel had fallen for her. Had stayed with her. He ached for Daniel’s loss and for Teal’c’s pain. He wanted badly to guide his team through this.

Jack had no idea what had passed between Teal’c and Daniel since that awful moment when Teal’c’s staff weapon flared and the light died in Sha’uri’s eyes, but Teal’c had stayed away from the burial ceremony.

They were grieving in their own ways when they should be drawing strength from each other, which served to illustrate something Jack had long suspected;  friendship was no easy thing for any of them. Carter had colleagues, Teal’c had warrior-kin, Jack had a small network of Forces buddies and poker buddies and hockey-watching buddies and Daniel ... Daniel had the three of them.

Comradeship had been hard won in the past three years and Jack hoped that the bonds that held them together, although stretched, would not break.

Jack tapped his watch thoughtfully and geared himself up for the inevitable plea for more time from one or both of the science squad. “Pack it up, girls and boys. Time to go.” Jack rose on complaining knees from the log and headed towards his team.

Carter cast a sideways glance at Daniel, as though gauging his response before answering. “Yes, Sir.” No arguments from Carter for more time, Jack noted. “I need to get back to run the data through the mainframe, but the mineral results indicate trinium deposits that are, well, pretty exciting, actually. Not Tonane’s planet exciting but promising enough.” She smiled that “I’m on to something and it’s going to take up all my time for the next however long and that’s just great” smile and started to pack away her stuff.

“Daniel?”

The man was scribbling furiously in a notebook, checking something on the video recorder as he did so. “Jack?”

“Ready to go?”

“Yes.”

 “No ‘Just another hour, Jack?’”

Daniel looked at him with that aggravating calmness that got under Jack’s skin on the wrong day. “No.”

Jack tilted his head and squinted. Daniel looked a little pale. He bore that squinched up look that spoke of a headache, and the flat tone of voice and lack of animation was just ... not Daniel.

Daniel gathered up his equipment and stuffed it into his pack before looking at Jack with tired eyes. “I think I’m done here.” He held the gaze for a beat, then two, then frowned and looked around before walking over to Sam and helping her stow her gear away.

Jack wanted to believe Daniel was talking about the here and now, but the cold lump that formed in his gut said that part of him at least was afraid of Daniel might actually mean.

Teal’c caught his eye and, though he didn’t say a word, Jack caught the clench of his jaw.

_Yeah, buddy, you thought that too, huh?_

“Good,” Jack said, still watching Teal’c. “To the yellow brick road, then.”

The route back to the Stargate wasn’t particularly arduous. They passed through a small wood , which led onto dried marshland bordered by a fast-flowing stream. They followed its meandering course, Teal’c on point, Daniel following, head down, lost in his thoughts, Jack a little way behind him and Carter on their six.

It was getting very warm. A quick check on the sun’s position said it was close to the hottest part of the day.

Jack watched Daniel plodding ahead. He had the air of a man who wasn’t really there at all. There in body maybe, but anywhere else in spirit. Jack could only wonder at what he was seeing in his mind’s eye.

After a few minutes, Jack dropped back a few paces and matched his stride to Carter’s.

“Think he’s okay?” Jack asked. Carter sighed. “I really don’t know, Sir. He’s not saying much. He looks tired.”

They walked on in silence for a while, the scrubby marshland giving way to greener, lusher pasture that rolled gently into the distance. Daniel’s pace began to slow a little, his stride faltering as the heat increased.

“Getting hot,” Jack observed, glancing across to Carter, willing her to pick up his unspoken plea to give him an excuse to call a time-out.

“Yes, Sir. That blister from my new boots is pretty uncomfortable.”

It was a gentle lie. Always a handy thing to have in a second in command’s armory. Kind of took the heat off the overly-concerned CO when necessary.

“Daniel, Teal’c. Hold up. We’re gonna take five. Carter needs to do some running repairs.”

They wandered over to the stream.  Carter sat down on the grass and futzed with her footwear while Daniel sat close by. Carter was right. Daniel did look tired. And unhappy. Crap.

While Teal’c took a drink from his canteen, Jack splashed blessedly cool stream water on his face. Wiping the droplets from chin, he noticed Daniel writing in his journal.

“Useful mission, huh?” He asked, for something to say.

“Um. Not really, since this is nothing more than a babysitting exercise and we all know it but no one’s actually, you know, saying that.” He kept writing.

Jack caught the anxious look Carter threw his way.

“Oh, but it’s been such fun. Ruins and inscriptions and ... stuff.”

Daniel’s grip on his pen tightened.  “Any unit could have taken this mission.  Or none. The nation’s tax dollars could have been put to much better use. I know why we’re here, but I’m fine. I don’t need this.”

Jack sensed Carter tensing. These little exchanges could so easily escalate.

The pen tapped on the journal cover, an outward indication of Daniel’s unvoiced distress. “I watched my wife die, Jack.  Right now, I’m more interested in finding the right words for The Speaking than in securing some pointless mission objective.”

Jack bit his tongue. He wasn’t going to rise to the bait. “The Speaking?”

Daniel continued to write. “It’s an Abydonian tradition. The Speaking will be called by Kasuf when he feels the time is right. He’ll pray to the gods for guidance, then those who knew and loved Sha’uri will gather at sunset to talk about her. Tell a favorite story.”

Carter gave up on the pretense of soothing her supposedly blistered foot and pulled her boot back on. “What will you say, Daniel?”

He shrugged and kept his eyes focused on the page. “I have no idea. She was my wife and I have no idea.”

Carter tied her bootlaces in neat little knots with a precision that Jack admired as much as he inwardly cringed at. Perfectionism was a trait he didn’t possess. “You’ll find the words,” she said gently, smiling at Daniel and reaching out to touch him lightly on the arm.

Jack saw Daniel’s slight flinch but didn’t think Carter caught it as she reached for her canteen and took a long drink.

“I’m not so sure,” Daniel said quietly, his mouth turning up at the corner in a barely-there imitation of a smile. “Every time I think about what to say, all I see is her lying dead beside me.”

Teal’c pulled himself straighter, his hold on his staff weapon so tight Jack feared it would snap in two. Jack winced at the thought, and at the awkwardness that was suffusing this conversation. He pulled off his cap and scrubbed  a hand through his hair. This journey was proving longer and more arduous than he anticipated, both literally and metaphorically. But at least Daniel was talking now. That was something.

“Well, I thought she was amazing, Daniel. I mean, I know I didn’t really know her, but anyone could see she was strong and loved by her people. And by you.” Carter often trod where angels feared to. Jack kind of blessed her for that at this moment.

Daniel was looking at her thoughtfully and he smiled again, and this time it was real and seemed to make his face a little less tired. “Thank you,” he said, nodding.

“Strong doesn’t begin to cover it, Carter. That woman was fearsome and fear-_less_. Sure wouldn’t have wanted to cross her. Kind of scary.” Jack shoved the cap back on his head, his mind suddenly full of the woman who had dared to defy the gods and show Daniel the symbol that helped lead them home.

Daniel put this journal on the ground and pulled his legs up, clasping his hands round his knees. He actually laughed, a short, sharp bark of a laugh, and Jack felt the tension in the air ease, saw Carter’s shoulders relax, saw Teal’c’s stranglehold on his staff loosen a fraction.

“Actually, Jack, scary doesn’t begin to cover it. You should have seen her scold Skaara when he sampled his own moonshine to excess for the first time. Or when she left me in charge of the ovens and the bread for her father’s birthday celebrations and I became so engrossed in my work on the cartouche that I forgot and burned it all.”

Jack swallowed hard. This. This is what he’d hoped for, and waited for, since they’d set foot through the Gate yesterday. For the first time since his wife’s death, Daniel sounded animated. Alive. Present.

“She got so mad. Then she stopped and berated herself for sounding so shrill and angry and started to laugh. She never stayed angry at anyone for long. Minutes later, she’d be smiling and joking and loving ...” Daniel frowned then, and turned his head away, fiddling with his glasses.

“I wish I’d had the chance to know her better,” Carter said softly. “I know I would have really liked her.”

“I wish that, too,” Daniel said. He adjusted his boonie strap and stood. “We should get going.”

“Daniel Jackson.”

Teal’c’s voice was softer then usual, and all the more shocking for that. It carried a weight of uncertainty which Jack didn’t think he’d ever heard before.

Daniel didn’t respond at first, simply placed his journal in his pack and concentrated on closing it up.

_Come on  ... come on, Daniel ..._

“Sha’uri was a brave and noble warrior. She would have been a great leader of her people in the course of time. I am sorry that my actions ended her life and have caused you so much pain. If you wish me to be removed from SG-1, I will understand, for I do not believe that you are ‘done here.’”

Carter looked at Jack, who looked at Daniel, who looked at the ground.

_Daniel ..._

“That won’t be necessary.” Daniel’s voice was flat and pained. But Jack was just so damned relieved that they were talking. “And you’re right. I’m not done here.  Although a part of me wishes I was. There’s something I need to find. Through the Gate. Something Sha’uri ... something I can’t think about right now.”

Daniel turned to look at Teal’c, who stiffened his stance as if bracing for a blow. “I know I said this before, but ... you did do the right thing, Teal’c. Just ... please don’t ask for my forgiveness. It’s not mine to give and I’m not sure I have the capacity for that anyway. Not anymore. I think I blame myself for what ultimately happened to Sha’uri more than I blame Apophis or ... you. Perhaps one day I’ll get past that and we can talk. Both of us blame-free. One day.”

Daniel dipped his head then, and turned away.  It had cost him a lot to say that. He played things close to the vest. They all did.

Jack let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. Mission accomplished. Objective achieved. Time to get things moving. To begin to move on. “Saddle up, kids. With luck, we’ll be home in time for the chuck wagon.”

Teal’c stood where he was, and Jack let him take a moment. He laid a hand on his shoulder as he passed, joining Carter and Daniel as they checked the straps on their packs and prepared for the walk ahead. When the big guy took point, Jack thought he looked more at ease, as though a burden had been lifted.

The sun continued to beat down, the grassland rolled out before them and the Stargate beckoned in the distance.

Daniel and Carter walked side by side, talking far more than they had on the outward journey.  Jack brought up the rear, his team safely in his sights.


End file.
